Chiefs Pioli: Haley will return, possible staff changes coming...

DaWolf · 01-04-2010, 12:13 AM

Pioli says he saw growth from Haley this year

By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

DENVER | The desired results didn’t come until Sunday, when the Chiefs were able to finish their season on a high note by routing the Denver Broncos 44-24.

But general manager Scott Pioli said he has been seeing the indicators all along that Todd Haley was the right coach to guide the Chiefs through these turbulent times and on to better days.

Foremost, Pioli said, was that the Chiefs continued to play hard for Haley despite their record, which will stand at 4-12 in Haley’s first season.

“He coached very passionately and he coached hard,” Pioli said in confirming Haley would coach the Chiefs again in 2010. “There were a lot of reasons at different times of the year for this team to quit and the players to quit. But they didn’t, and clearly they responded to his coaching.

“How hard players play is always an indicator. We saw improvements in this football team, and we saw that in a game like today’s.”

Haley had a short coaching career when he was hired last February by Pioli to coach the Chiefs. His first season was marked by clashes with players, changes to his coaching staff and some odd moves during games.

But Pioli indicated Haley will be a better coach and the Chiefs a better team because of them.

“Todd made tremendous progress this year,” Pioli said. “Our whole team made progress this year. Todd coached well under some difficult circumstances.

“Some of the decisions he made and some of the things he did, he was clear to me at different times that he had to do them better. In our private meetings, he was very aware of the improvement all of us had to make, himself included. He’s very self-aware. I saw growth, absolutely.”

Haley juggled plenty of duties for a rookie head coach after firing Chan Gailey during the preseason and taking over as offensive coordinator himself.

“I don’t know if he had too much on his plate but he had a lot on his plate,” Pioli said. “Being a first-time head coach, coordinating the offense, calling the plays and having the set of circumstances we all walked into that we all knew was a lot to overcome … he handled it well.”

Haley said he was better equipped to coach the Chiefs now after having more than 10 months of on-the-job training.

“There’s no substitute for experience,” he said. “There’s no manual for doing this job. I don’t know that there’s anybody great at this job right out of the blocks. The way you become a great head coach is to learn from each experience. Each game is an experience and each week leading up to it. Until you have that experience, you just don’t know.

“In my mind, I’ve continued to get better in each and every area.”

Haley will quickly turn his attention to possible changes on his coaching staff. Coordinator Clancy Pendergast is an obvious target after the Chiefs finished near the bottom of the league on defense.

ESPN reported the Chiefs would hire former Cleveland head coach Romeo Crennel as their new defensive coordinator.

Haley and Crennel once coached together as assistants with the New York Jets. Crennel was also defensive coordinator with New England while Pioli was the Patriots’ personnel director.

But Haley said he has not discussed a coaching position with Crennel.

“I know Romeo,” he said. “He’s a friend of mine, and I worked with him for a handful of years. I’ve probably talked to Romeo four or five times this year but not specifically about coaching here. I would never do that to the guys here. They’ve been working their butts off.”

Haley indicated changes would probably be coming to his staff in some form.

“That’s something I’ve got to be right on is the staff,” he said. “I thought coming into this it was a two-year process potentially just because of how late in the game I got hired. It was in February when I was hired. All the other staffs had been hired.

Those changes could include the hiring of an offensive coordinator.

“We’ve been having a lot of conversations about this, and we’ll continue to talk about that,” Pioli said. “The time hasn’t been right to have those conversations. We didn’t want to be distracted about the season. We’ll be able to get to that now.”

01-04-2010, 12:13 AM	Topic Starter
DaWolf Cry havoc... Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $10007725	Pioli: Haley will return, possible staff changes coming... Pioli says he saw growth from Haley this year By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star DENVER \| The desired results didn’t come until Sunday, when the Chiefs were able to finish their season on a high note by routing the Denver Broncos 44-24. But general manager Scott Pioli said he has been seeing the indicators all along that Todd Haley was the right coach to guide the Chiefs through these turbulent times and on to better days. Foremost, Pioli said, was that the Chiefs continued to play hard for Haley despite their record, which will stand at 4-12 in Haley’s first season. “He coached very passionately and he coached hard,” Pioli said in confirming Haley would coach the Chiefs again in 2010. “There were a lot of reasons at different times of the year for this team to quit and the players to quit. But they didn’t, and clearly they responded to his coaching. “How hard players play is always an indicator. We saw improvements in this football team, and we saw that in a game like today’s.” Haley had a short coaching career when he was hired last February by Pioli to coach the Chiefs. His first season was marked by clashes with players, changes to his coaching staff and some odd moves during games. But Pioli indicated Haley will be a better coach and the Chiefs a better team because of them. “Todd made tremendous progress this year,” Pioli said. “Our whole team made progress this year. Todd coached well under some difficult circumstances. “Some of the decisions he made and some of the things he did, he was clear to me at different times that he had to do them better. In our private meetings, he was very aware of the improvement all of us had to make, himself included. He’s very self-aware. I saw growth, absolutely.” Haley juggled plenty of duties for a rookie head coach after firing Chan Gailey during the preseason and taking over as offensive coordinator himself. “I don’t know if he had too much on his plate but he had a lot on his plate,” Pioli said. “Being a first-time head coach, coordinating the offense, calling the plays and having the set of circumstances we all walked into that we all knew was a lot to overcome … he handled it well.” Haley said he was better equipped to coach the Chiefs now after having more than 10 months of on-the-job training. “There’s no substitute for experience,” he said. “There’s no manual for doing this job. I don’t know that there’s anybody great at this job right out of the blocks. The way you become a great head coach is to learn from each experience. Each game is an experience and each week leading up to it. Until you have that experience, you just don’t know. “In my mind, I’ve continued to get better in each and every area.” Haley will quickly turn his attention to possible changes on his coaching staff. Coordinator Clancy Pendergast is an obvious target after the Chiefs finished near the bottom of the league on defense. ESPN reported the Chiefs would hire former Cleveland head coach Romeo Crennel as their new defensive coordinator. Haley and Crennel once coached together as assistants with the New York Jets. Crennel was also defensive coordinator with New England while Pioli was the Patriots’ personnel director. But Haley said he has not discussed a coaching position with Crennel. “I know Romeo,” he said. “He’s a friend of mine, and I worked with him for a handful of years. I’ve probably talked to Romeo four or five times this year but not specifically about coaching here. I would never do that to the guys here. They’ve been working their butts off.” Haley indicated changes would probably be coming to his staff in some form. “That’s something I’ve got to be right on is the staff,” he said. “I thought coming into this it was a two-year process potentially just because of how late in the game I got hired. It was in February when I was hired. All the other staffs had been hired. Those changes could include the hiring of an offensive coordinator. “We’ve been having a lot of conversations about this, and we’ll continue to talk about that,” Pioli said. “The time hasn’t been right to have those conversations. We didn’t want to be distracted about the season. We’ll be able to get to that now.”
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